The Best Back In The Land

It was after 4 a.m. on July 29 when Nutt received a text message from McFadden saying that he was in trouble and that he was sorry. "At first I thought it was another one of his jokes," Nutt says. "Then when he told me what happened, I wished that it was another one of his jokes." McFadden had tried to stop someone who was attempting to steal his brother's car outside a Little Rock nightclub. In the altercation that ensued, his sandal came off and he accidentally slammed his left foot into the curb, mangling the big toe so badly that a bone came through the skin. The original prognosis was that the dislocation would keep him from being ready to start the season, and it was possible he would have to sit out the entire year.

"It was devastating for him, but I think that more than anything, he was embarrassed," Nutt says. "This is a kid who had done everything right in terms of going to class and projecting the right image off the field, and he hated that he had put himself in that position." That embarrassment may have motivated McFadden in his rehab, because he returned to the field for part-time duty in the Razorbacks' opener against USC. By the second game, he was the old D-Mac, carrying 20 times for 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Utah State.

This season begins with a completely different set of expectations. Arkansas fans battered by a turbulent off-season that included the transfer of prized quarterback Mitch Mustain, the departure of innovative offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn after only one year and a bizarre episode in which a disgruntled fan obtained and disseminated Nutt's phone records, have their hearts set on seeing the school's first Heisman winner. McFadden realizes that added pressure awaits. "The first time I have a bad game or make a mistake, it's going to be headlines," he says. "I'm not going to say that won't bother me, but I try not to listen too much to what people are saying about me, whether it's good or bad." Right now, it's all good, as McFadden adjusts to life as a celebrity, which means avoiding the malls on the weekends unless he wants to spend hours signing autographs. "On everything," he says. "I've signed hands, foreheads, everything."

Though he handles the hoopla with his typical good humor, there are times when he seeks sanctuary, plopping himself down on the couch in Weber's office. "Sometimes he just needs to get away from it all," Weber says. Then McFadden will make a wisecrack about Weber's bald dome, and Weber will respond by making fun of McFadden's feet--"Have you seen his toes?" Weber says. "They're hideous"--and McFadden is reenergized.

The loss of three offensive linemen suggests that the holes may not be as big or as plentiful as they were last year, at least not right away. Opposing defenses will also be targeting him more than ever before. "I expect to hear some stuff on the field, like, 'You're not winning a Heisman today, baby,' " he says. But McFadden seems undaunted. "If teams come after me, they come after me," he says. "That just makes it more challenging."

The one thing that seems certain is that it will be a fun run for the Heisman in Fayetteville. Voters who snub McFadden do so at their own risk. One day when they least expect it water balloons may fly their way, accompanied by the hum of a motor scooter and the sound of distant laughter.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

DYNAMIC DUOS

As sophomores, Arkansas' Darren McFadden and Felix Jones joined some elite company, combining for the second-highest rushing total in Division I history among running back tandems (each of whom rushed for at least 1,000 yards).